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Could ‘king in the north’ become Britain’s new prime minister?

leadership battle, which Starmer said on Friday that he would contest. Burnham allies are hoping the prime minister will change his mind and instead opt for a more dignified exit. If so, the annual gathering

‘King of the North’: Who is Andy Burnham, a potential UK prime minister?

Starmer, Labour’s ruling Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) prevented Burnham from standing in the Manchester Gorton and Denton by-election, which was eventually won by the Green Party. Burnham, whose speech is peppered

Starmer needs sharper survival strategy if he is to stay on

Starmer himself made his message clear at cabinet – it was [time to trigger a leadership contest or stand down](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/12/starmer-cabinet-labour-leadership). In words that in effect dared the health secretary, Wes Streeting, to move

Keir Starmer's party lost big in U.K. local elections. Here's what comes next.

leadership position, including from members of his own Labour Party. "The Prime Minister needs to go. That is not negotiable," Clive Lewis, the Labour Member of Parliament for Norwich South [wrote on social media

Unhappy Labour MPs aren't ready to oust Starmer yet

Starmer yet Labour is trailing in the polls and the prime minister's personal ratings have plumbed the depths. The party is facing losses in forthcoming elections: losing control of Wales, shedding councillors in England

Burnham’s momentum builds in Makerfield as byelection nears

Labour parties are sending busloads of activists and staffers are staying in cabins in local people’s gardens. There is an open admission of fear about how the party will even manage the number

Transition timetable: what a Starmer autumn handover could look like

Labour members. The timing of the contest would be set by the party’s national executive committee, which would be expected to make it as rapid as possible. While the leadership election that Starmer

Andy Burnham faces perilous race to win Makerfield byelection, allies say

Starmer out, but the flip side is you’re saying to Reform voters that if they vote Reform they can finish the Labour party off for good.”  Makerfield town

Streeting says he is 'full of rebellious hope' as he delivers resignation speech

Starmer's leadership. In a letter to the prime minister, he criticised Sir Keir's leadership as the reason for the party's dire election results a few days earlier, saying Labour

‘Why are we even doing this?’ The week that left Britain’s PM looking like an interim leader

Labour](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/labour) Together thinktank that catapulted him to power, was right, of course: no one has formally challenged the prime minister, let alone ousted him. But the reality is stark. In one short

Lucy Powell says Labour has ‘no magic bullet’ as MPs brace for heavy losses in local elections

Labour MPs in the aftermath of the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal, but said the prime minister would not make a similar mistake again. Powell, who called for Keir Starmer to be more explicitly progressive during

More than 100 Labour MPs sign statement against Starmer leadership challenge

Labour MPs have signed a statement saying this is “no time for a leadership contest” – as [Keir Starmer](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/keir-starmer) told his cabinet he would not stand down while a formal leadership contest

Wes Streeting faces narrow road to Labour members’ favour

Labour’s heavy local election losses, [a Compass survey](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/09/labour-members-keir-starmer-party-fortunes-poll) of more than 1,000 members found that if they were given a free choice, 42% would pick Andy Burnham to succeed Starmer

Who is Zack Polanski, UK Greens leader and rising political star?

Starmer’s Labour party – traditionally associated with the working class in the UK. ## Who is Zack Polanski? The Green Party leader grew up as David Paulden in a Jewish community in Salford, Greater Manchester

Facing a seismic by-election, the people of Makerfield tell us what matters to them

Labour leadership contest to replace Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street. First, Burnham must defeat his main rival in Makerfield, local plumber Robert Kenyon, who is standing for Reform UK, an insurgent party

Phillipson: challenge to Starmer would be wrong despite election ‘kicking’

Starmer, even though voters have given the party a “real kicking” at the ballot box and people feel “bitterly let down”, the education secretary, [Bridget Phillipson](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/bridget-phillipson), has said. Phillipson said [Labour

Wes Streeting pledges 'wealth tax that works'

Starmer to stand down, fuelling intense speculation the former health secretary was planning a bid to replace him as party leader. Streeting did not mount an immediate challenge following his resignation, but has since said

Wes Streeting says Starmer ‘behind the curve’ on under-16s social media ban – UK politics live

party yet. Streeting is not officially a candidate. But, in his Today interview, he said that he definitely had the 81 Labour MPs names he needed to launch a leadership challenge and he said

UK net migration needs to fall further, says Andy Burnham

Starmer for the Labour leadership, should he become an MP. Speaking at his campaign launch on Friday, Burnham said a vote for him is a "vote to change Labour" and ensure voters get "the party

Badenoch attacks Farage over £5m gift and rules out Tory-Reform pact

Labour leadership challenge](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/21/keir-starmer-expected-to-announce-departure-as-prime-minister-on-monday), with Keir Starmer expected to announce his departure as prime minister on Monday. Meanwhile in [Aberdeen South](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/19/snp-concedes-aberdeen-south-with-scottish-conservatives-set-to-win), the Scottish Tories defeated the Scottish National party